FIS, a financial service company, is undergoing a digital transformation. This includes migrating workloads to cloud-based Microsoft Azure services. This digital transformation initiative is centered on an Virtual Desktop Azure infrastructure that serves all employees and customers. Azure Virtual Desktop provides azure support, lowering overall IT costs, providing greater efficiency and agility and freeing staff to concentrate on their core competencies--developing and selling financial services.
Azure and Microsoft provide compelling value to any business. Microsoft is growing faster than its competitors, and Azure Virtual Desktop will only fuel that fire.
FIS employs around 55,000 people globally to provide financial services that help businesses thrive. FIS offers services in banking, investment and payment processing. is a leader in the highly competitive, rapidly evolving world of business finance. FIS is also a leader for the adoption of cloud-based technology in the financial sector, which transforms its operations and offers cutting-edge benefits to its customers.
Cloud-native migration benefits
Warren Street, Senior Vice President of Cloud Services at FIS, is dedicated to the cloud and the many opportunities that it offers. He said, "We are one of the largest financial services providers in the world." The idea that the Azure platform can be used to expand the global market addressable and move towards an optimized operational model is what keeps my heart beating every day."
Integrated Technology Systems is a provides cloud computing and support services. This is a fundamental principle. Azure is essential to a sustainable business strategy, according to them. Street also said that FIS core competency lies in the development and sale of best-in-class financial products and not in securely managing infrastructure.
Azure Virtual Desktop is a gateway
FIS is an enterprise user of Office 365 desktop applications and wanted to extend that functionality to Azure Virtual Desktop. Azure Virtual Desktop was envisioned by the company as a gateway for a larger cloud-native platforming effort. Street stated that Microsoft was a great partnership. It was an easy choice for them, he said.
For End Users
COVID-19 was instrumental in accelerating the adoption of Azure Virtual Desktop last year. It also re-energized company's remote work model. Street and his team met with Microsoft's Azure Virtual Desktop team to discuss their responses and to give valuable feedback about FIS. Brian Bacus, Financial Services Technical Strategist at Microsoft, said that FIS had a significant impact on the current state of Azure Virtual Desktop. FIS would not have made the product what it is today, so it's safe for us to assume that FIS was involved.
FIS had around 6,000 users and approximately 1,500 Azure Virtual Desktop instances within one week of Azure Virtual Desktop deployment. Street claims that 93% of FIS employees worked at customer sites before the pandemic. Nearly 100 percent of these workers had already moved into their homes by the time that the lockdown was lifted. Azure Virtual Desktop and Azure support was the only possible way.
For developers
All employees of the global FIS organization have been provisioned with Azure Virtual Desktop. This includes a large development unit, which is involved in system integration projects as well as creating in-house solutions. Developers need specialized environments that allow them to manage their projects and resources. Developers also require the ability to quickly bring online proof of concept platforms and test systems. Street states that Azure Virtual Desktop is now open to developers. It doesn't make sense to provide developers with specialized computers that don't have all the tools they need. Azure Virtual Desktop infrastructure instances in a development lab provide all the tools they need.
Secure, flexible, and scalable solutions
Azure Virtual Desktop has a key advantage: it seamlessly pairs with Azure. This allows you to instantly connect resources online and offline, as required. It's easy to quickly add or remove staff members without needing to set up laptops, desktops, or mobile devices. They don't even have to travel to the office. For tasks they have been given, contingent staff can have temporary, project-specific access. A central admin team can control and audit access to virtual resources, simplifying security measures and privacy.
Street was impressed by the speed and efficiency of the process of provisioning and deprovisioning resources in Azure Virtual Desktop. Street says that once you have an interested candidate for your company, you want them as productive as possible. HR must manage these resources. They can easily move their equipment and can wipe out all of their IT footprint when they leave.
Hybrids are cost-effective and eco-friendly
Capital expenses can be reduced in favor of operating costs. This shift to contingent or on-demand resource usage can lead to cost savings. This makes it easier to divide these expenses among business units according to their usage. These units also realize the potential savings they can make by utilizing their flexible IT infrastructure. Street estimates that they support between 8,500 to 9,000 developers in this environment. Street estimates that they have an average downtime of 40 to 45 percent for virtual resources. Developers know that the system can be expensive so they turn it off when not in use. FIS also uses Windows 10 multisession to save money, allowing two users to share a single virtual picture.
Administration is another area where efficiency is being observed. Street says that infrastructure and administration costs can be roughly split 50-50 in an on site deployment. Street believes that even a small team can deliver incredible value. "Our team is only six percent of the total cloud-native infrastructure costs we operate. That's how efficient it is."
FIS will continue to use hybrid infrastructure, just like other financial services companies. However, some resources will remain on-premises. FIS relies upon seamless interoperability with Azure Virtual Desktop and the related Azure infrastructure between its on-premise and cloud-based resources. FIS employees prefer to work remotely, at home, or in the office. This allows them to be more productive. Street claims that more than 90% of FIS employees prefer working in a multilocation, mixed environment. As this new workplace becomes more common, Azure Virtual Desktop will remain the preferred tool.
The Future
Street set the tone for FIS to become fully cloud-native using Azure and Azure Virtual Desk. Trust is the cornerstone of financial service organizations. Because Microsoft offers a cloud-based financial service, he has seen trust grow among his peers in the industry. It also operates in more countries that any other company. Street claims that cloud providers have better regulatory compliance than others. Street believes that large companies are shifting their workloads to Azure as Microsoft and Azure offer compelling value. "Microsoft is growing faster than its competitors, and I believe Azure Virtual Desktop can just fuel that fire."
